IT is plain, from the in-depth profiles we have carried of Kingsmead School and Derby Pride Academy in the past two days, that both are doing an outstanding job.

Testimony from any youngster on the excellence of the school they attend is rare, given the natural way of kids and their "us and them" attitude.

Usually, the realisation, appreciation and gratitude is only reached later in life.

Given that the special brief of these two establishments is to deal with pupils who, for whatever reason, were too disruptive at their previous mainstream schools, it is a particular feather in the cap of the Kingsmead and Derby Pride staff.

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However, while we rightly acclaim the work done in steering these children back on to the straight and narrow, such a focus can also paint their previous schools in an unfavourable light.

And that can be very unfair – which can be better appreciated when you assess the behavioural excesses to which some of these youngsters own up.

Take Sean Graham, for example. Now at Manchester Metropolitan University, he spent 18 months at Kingsmead after being permanently excluded from his mainstream school.

He freely admits he might well have ended up in prison had his early lifestyle gone unchecked. Theft, drugs, alcohol and abuse of teachers was commonplace.

Thirteen-year-old Matthew Jones says his exclusions from school ran into double figures.

"I was throwing chairs at teachers, swearing and walking out of class", he admits.

The different circumstances at places like Kingsmead – in particular the higher ratio of adults to pupils – make such behaviour much less prevalent.

And the additional facilities which are available also reduce the boredom factor – which is often put up as an explanation for wild and unrestrained behaviour.

Mainstream schools cannot send children to work with animals at places like Happy Hens.

And they – and their well-behaved pupils – can only dream of having a gymnasium with professional trainer, as well as football sessions at Pride Park Stadium, as are enjoyed at the Pride Academy.

Staff in state schools have to soldier on, doing the best they can with oversized classes.

The vast majority do a thoroughly competent job.

If you think differently, imagine how you would deal with a child barely in his teens who is prone to throw chairs at you when the mood takes him – and would your response be tolerant enough to keep you out of disciplinary proceedings?

It is great that the youngsters to whom we spoke have expressed their gratitude to staff at the specialist establishments for the help, support and understanding they have shown.

Let us not overlook, though, the gratitude that will undoubtedly also be felt by teachers, pupils and parents from the mainstream schools for having such disruptive children removed from their midst.